


wild in between

by theheavycrown



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 1x04, During Canon, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Romance, Southside Showcase, Twilight Drive-In, Valerpea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 04:39:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14908497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theheavycrown/pseuds/theheavycrown
Summary: Sweet Pea had never encountered a single Northsider he liked, until he met Valerie.





	wild in between

**Author's Note:**

> Southside Showcase | Day One | Twilight Drive-In
> 
> Endless thank you's to my friends, the peanut butter and the jelly to my bread, my betas, [lilibug--xx](https://lilibug--xx.tumblr.com) and [opportunistichag](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpportunisticHag/pseuds/OpportunisticHag). I'd be a hot mess without them.
> 
> This is set within canon in season 1, episode 4.

The best relationships usually begin unexpectedly. 

Sweet Pea, however, wasn’t looking for a relationship and he certainly never wound up with the best of anything - the curse that seemed to plague every Southsider.

The last remaining social landmark worth a shit left on the Southside of Riverdale was meeting its unfortunate end at the hands of its own residents. The Twilight Drive-In was closing for good, and the Serpents were unknowingly playing a part in a much larger game of chess. 

When the leader of the Serpents, FP Jones, had announced that they’d received an offer they couldn’t refuse and would be wreaking havoc on the local outdoor venue, Sweet Pea didn’t entirely understand the benefit. Personally, he liked the drive-in and thought it was a fucking stupid idea, but who was he to question the king cobra?

When he really got down to it, what good did the drive-in do him, anyway? Despite it being south of the tracks, the Northsiders showed up by the car-full, looking down on him and his friends from the locked doors of their sedans. They acted they owned the place, though their noses were still stuck in the air.

Sweet Pea was settled in a lawn chair, long legs sprawled out in front of him, scowling at those parked cars when he saw her. 

Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he raised a hand to rub his thumb across his lower lip. This girl was something else. It was by the grace of god that she was fucking beautiful, of course she had to be a Northsider. She walked alongside the mayor's uptight, entitled, princess of a daughter, all warm brown skin and a smile as wide as the sun, with curly hair to match.

When she tilted her head back to laugh, strutting ahead of her friends, Sweet Pea couldn’t resist the rush of attraction that ran hot in his blood, like a summer fire licking up into the sky. A wry smile crept up the corners of his mouth; too bad she was likely wound just as tight as her cat-ear wearing friend.

He shook his head, turning back to his rambunctious friends as she disappeared in the maze of fancy vehicles. When he reached for the box of candy that had rested on the cooler beside him, he came up empty.

“Asshole. Did you snatch my candy?” Sweet Pea asked, looking to his best friend, Fangs. 

Fangs looked decidedly unbothered by his thieving ways and shrugged simply. “Finders keepers.”

“You owe me candy. Give me five dollars, I’m going back to concessions.”

Shoving a full Red Vine in his mouth, Fangs spoke around it, “I’m not giving--“ He was cut off by a punch to the arm, knocking him half over the arm of his chair. “SP, man, all I have is a twenty,” he whined.

“Sounds like I’m getting Red Vines  _ and _ Milk Duds then. Maybe a soda.” Sweet Pea smirked, holding out his hand and motioning his fingers inward.  _ Cough it up, bitch. _

Fangs pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, huffing as he handed over the cash.

Casting a shit-eating grin at his friend, Sweet Pea pushed up from the chair and strode toward the concession stand.

He pulled his phone out on the way, checking for notifications and ran straight into another body as he stepped up to the counter. 

“Shit,” he muttered as he dropped his phone, reaching out to steady the other person, simultaneously getting a facefull of soft, curly hair. His nose filled with the scent of coconut and sunshine on a hot day.

“I am so sorry,” the girl exclaimed, reaching down to retrieve his phone, along with her own. “I wasn’t paying enough attention.”

When she straightened and turned her face up to his, Sweet Pea’s mouth parted and nothing but air came out.

Her head tilted, wide grin gracing her lips as she held out his phone. It was the same girl, with the same smile that had drawn his attention only minutes before.

Clearing his throat, Sweet Pea ran a hand through his hair, the other taking his phone from her as his eyebrows tilted down. “Guilty as well, I wasn’t looking either.”

“No harm, no foul, then!” 

_ She smiles an awful lot _ , Sweet Pea thought, nodding along. “Well… after you.”

“You can go, I’m not in a rush.” She stuck her phone into her back pocket and tilted her chin forward.

“Really, I insist,” he gestured to the order counter,  trying not to get lost in the warmth of her eyes.

The boy inside the booth cleared his throat. “If one of you could order? People are lining up behind you.”

The two of them looked backward, and sure enough, a middle aged woman was standing behind them, arms crossed with impatience.

They both spoke up at the same time, “Red Vines and Milk Duds, please.”

Sweet Pea laughed, muttering under his breath, “Today is just full of coincidences.”

“We only have one bag of Red Vines.” The cashier stated, then reached over and grabbed the items, setting two boxes of Milk Duds and a single package of Red Vines on the counter.

“Of course you do.” Sweet Pea shoved his hands in the pockets of his vest, looking up with a sigh. 

The girl waved a hand accompanied by another one of those thousand watt, sunlight grins, “You can have them, I’ll just get a Coke and the Milk Duds.”

Fangs had surely scarfed down the entirety of the bag by now, and Sweet Pea really wanted those Red Vines. Northsiders got everything - she probably got what she wanted every day of the week. He wasn’t just going to give her the damn candy, too.

He reached out to grab his order before he let out a rough breath, picking up both items and promptly shoving them into her hands. “Take it, I’m good.”

She was right next to him, hip resting against the window with that same pleasant look on her face, beaming at him like he hung the moon. She may be damn Northsider but she was being so nice and she kept fucking smiling at him. That didn't seem to happen often anymore, he was far more familiar with looks of disappoint.

“Alright then. If you’re sure, I won’t say no... But I’m getting you a soda and no arguments. Fair is fair.” She tucked the box into her pocket and held up two fingers. “Make that two Cokes please.”

Sweet Pea clenched his jaw. “You don’t have to--”

“I know I don’t have to, I want to. Hey, you ever try using the licorice as a straw?”

“What? No.” 

The cashier returned with two sodas, requesting their totals for the purchases. Sweet Pea handed over the twenty dollar bill for his single box of Milk Duds and pocketed the remaining change. Fangs definitely wasn’t getting it back now.

She handed him the cola and he thanked her before turning to go. She might be pretty and pleasant so far, but he wasn’t going to wear out his welcome.

Hustling after him, the girl shouted out, “Hey, wait a minute!”

Sweet Pea groaned, he knew a good looking, Northside girl like that couldn’t go without turning on a guy like him. Preparing himself for the backlash, he grit his teeth and turned around. 

The haughty expression he expected was nowhere to be found. She immediately pressed her Coke into his free hand, tore open the bag of Red Vines, pulled out a handful, and dropped them into his open cup. 

“Red Vines and Cola, it’ll change your snack game for good.” She grabbed her soda back and tucked the remaining licorice inside.

Looking down at his cup, he couldn’t help the laugh that escaped; Sweet Pea wasn’t surprised often and he didn’t expect this. “That much of a game changer, huh?”

“Oh, no doubt. Next level movie snacking.” She tilted her head to the side, smiling again, then held out her hand. “I’m Valerie, by the way.”

“Sweet Pea.” He shook her hand, considering her as a smile grew on his own face. She had a firm grip. “I’ve got a cup full of licorice, I’m committed now.”

“You won’t regret it. In  _ fact _ , you’ll be thanking me later.”

Sweet Pea ticked his eyebrows up and full on grinned. “To thank you later, I’d have to see you later.” He realized they were still shaking hands, and in that moment she gripped tighter before pulling away.

“Maybe you will.” Valerie raised her cup, bringing the candy straw to her lips and taking a sip. “Enjoy the movie.”

Darting his tongue out to his bottom lip, he nodded. “Yeah, you too.” 

She raised her eyebrows in an enigmatic look and took a few steps backward, then turned around with a bounce of hair as she headed back to her friends. “I’ll see you around, SP,” she called over her shoulder.

He couldn’t help but admire the view as she walked away. Maybe not  _ every _ Northsider was so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> After days of contemplating who I would ship Valerie with it hit me, Sweet Pea. I was instantly convinced they could be great. Thank you to the Bughead Discord ladies for their enthusiasm on this ship. I wouldn't have set it to sail and written this without my friends!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading good ship Valerpea as much as I enjoyed writing it. If there is a desire for more, I'll continue writing this for the [Southside Showcase](https://buggiebreak.tumblr.com/post/174160400864/no-serpent-stands-alone-this-summer-buggiebreak) event. Let me know what you think in the comments? 
> 
> Come find me on Tumblr | [theheavycrown](https://theheavycrown.tumblr.com)


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